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How Saraki, Tambuwal, Dogara, Melaye lured APC lawmakers to PDP

Bode Ayorinde, a member of the House of Representatives representing Owo/Ose Federal Constituency of Ondo State, has revealed how federal lawmakers elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) were lured to dump the party for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Ayorinde, speaking on Tuesday at a stakeholders meeting and flag-off ceremony for his campaign in Owo area of the state, said a series of meetings planned by the duo of Senate President Bukola Saraki and House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogora, were held at different locations in Abuja where they perfected their defection from APC to PDP.

Speaking on the moves that led to the mass defection of the lawmakers, Ayorinde said: “We held a series of meetings on how to move this country forward since the ‘Change’ agenda that the APC-led government promised the people of this country seems to be a total scam and nothing is working.“Senate President Bukola Saraki chaired the meeting; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogora was there, as well as the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal and many other former senators. They felt the need to change the man in government, who is not making things work perfectly.

“Later, they called about 34 of us at the House of Representatives to come into the meeting where a group was formed, while they also called on 15 rebel senators to join us. We held no less than 59 meetings, planning and strategising on our breaking away from the ruling APC. We all contemplated on whether to form a new party or join an existing one.”

The Ondo Federal lawmaker further explained that three political parties — Social Democratic Party (SDP), African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) — were suggested to them during their meetings.

“We called on the leaders of these political parties to come and talk to us on how they can develop the country if we moved en masse into their fold. It was Professor Adediran who led those from SDP to come and convince us that we should defect to their party while talks were ongoing. It was Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola who led those from the camp of the ADC, and he begged us to join because it is Baba Obasanjo’s political party and that if we join, we can join them to move Nigeria forward.“And for the PDP, it was the National Chairman of the umbrella party, Mr. Uche Secondus, who led the team of about 20 people to convince us about the PDP. We now sat down and looked into the strengths of these parties, then, we asked them what they would do for us if we joined them. However, they asked us to pen down what we wanted from them.